


Technical Delay

by BloodFrost



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), kylux - Fandom
Genre: Coping, Death, Developing Relationship, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual kylux, Evil Space Boyfriends, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gay, General Hux - Freeform, Grief/Mourning, Kylo Ren - Freeform, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylux - Freeform, Leia organa - Freeform, Love, M/M, Romance, Secret Crush, Short Story, Soft Kylux, Space Gays, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) - Freeform, Star Wars-All Media Types - Freeform, The First Order, matt the radar tech, supreme leader snoke - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 08:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12031920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodFrost/pseuds/BloodFrost
Summary: Kylo Ren, who has spent the better part of the last decade cultivating a cruel, ruthless personality, finds himself ill-prepared to face his greatest challenge yet: the death of his mother.The situation throws him into a depressive mental spiral, and nobody in his life is quite sure of how to help him, or restore him to his formal self.Nobody is more concerned for him than his co-commander and friend, General Armitage Hux. When Kylo develops a very odd method of coping with his grief and pain, Hux runs himself ragged trying to figure out a way to "snap him out of it".





	Technical Delay

"Master Ben, I'm afraid there's not much more that can be done for her. I'm terribly sorry."

Kylo clamped his mouth shut against the shriek that wanted to come out, and the logical, reasoning part of his brain made him unclip his lightsaber from his belt and put it into the hallway closet, before he could use it on the hapless droid.

Having felt that he had gotten all the information he could from C-3PO, he calmly reached behind his metallic head and switched him off, putting him in the corner unharmed until it was necessary to give him life again.

When Snoke had told him weeks ago that their intelligence had reported that General Organa of the Resistance had contracted the extremely rare Othswan flu from Mamdelore, Kylo hadn't thought much of it.

After all, he hadn't had any contact with the woman, and for good reason, in almost 10 years.

And besides, he saw no reason to worry over it: his mother was stubborn, and a fighter.

Yet when further reports came in telling them that Leia had been ousted as the Resistance's General, and had been sent back to her home to be taken care of by her faithful droid, _that's_ when Kylo started to become concerned.

When it became brutally clear that she was living her last days, and would soon die, Kylo had argued with Snoke that he be allowed to go and see his mother, before she passed. That her passing was inevitable, judging by the rather serious and somber reports given them by their intelligence.

The reports had also stated that Leia had had a partial mind-wipe, in regards to the last few years, so that she had no memories of anything past her days in the senate.

This was a precautionary measure on the part of the Resistance, so that, should something happen, she would be unable to give anyone any information that might compromise their safety or security.

If/when Kylo went to see her, she would simply think him home from Jedi training with Luke, and not recall the horrendous series of events that led him, and all of them, to where they were now.

3-PO had been alarmed to see him, of course, and had very nearly called for help before Kylo rendered him immobile and calmly explained his position.

Seeing his mother the way she was now, though, gave Kylo pause to think that perhaps it would have been better for him to stay away.

The already-small woman had seemed to shrink down even further, her body curled into a ball on the bed and giving the illusion of being no more than a sickly child. The virus was attacking her immune system from the inside-out, emaciating her, eating away at her body. She could still eat on her own, yes, but her body no longer absorbed the nutrients needed to sustain her, rendering consumption an entirely futile act.

Every rib stood out quite clearly against her stretched, shiny skin. Her tone had taken on the worrying paleness of a corpse, alabaster-smooth and unvarying. Her collarbones were painfully defined, sharp ridges, her sternum a congested knot. She had lost all traces of womanly curves, her chest flat and her hips in smooth, straight lines.

Her once vibrant brown eyes, the eyes that her son had inherited from her, had faded into a dull, washed-out gray.

Kylo would stand in the kitchen of his mother's tiny house, assembling a tray that consisted mostly of pain medication and fluids. He was also standing on the brink of physical and emotional exhaustion, and it was all he could do to hold himself together.

His mother's mind-wipe had indeed been effective, and she seemed to believe that Kylo was still, simply, Ben. The gangly, shy, sweet teenager that came home every few weeks from training with his uncle Luke.

Which was, honestly, a bit of a _bad_ thing, for Kylo.

He had needed her to yell at him, to cry, to demand an answer to the heartbreaking actions he had taken against her, their family, and everything that she stood for.

He needed closure; but it was already too late.

The Leia on the bed was a far cry from the strong, confident Leader he had always known her to be.

This Leia was thin, and fragile. 

The days spent by her bedside were long, and torturous. As time went on, her mind became clouded, and she grew confused.

He had learned very quickly that it was a bad idea to dress in all black around her. The first time he had done so, she screamed with more strength than he would have thought her capable, and all but flung herself to the opposite side of the bed.

"Vader! VADER!", she screamed, and wouldn't stop until he put on lighter garments and sat with her, soothing her.

Sometimes she thought Kylo was a doctor, keeping an eye on her. Other times, in rare moments of lucidity, she would call him Ben and stroke his hair softly, speaking of things that had happened during his youth.

She seemed not to remember at all the bad things, and for this Kylo was both grateful, and angry. He was grateful because he didn't want his mother suffering anymore than she had to.

He was angry because if she didn't remember, how could he apologize?

One day he went into her room with a tray of food, and was shocked to see her sitting up in bed, looking very alert, very _clear_.

"Ben! It's about time; I've been calling you for hours," she said. "Bintol has been scratching at the door, can you let him outside?"

Bintol was the dog they had had when Kylo was 8 years old. He had been dead for years.

Nevertheless Kylo walked to the door in the kitchen, pulled it open, and exaggeratedly slammed it shut again, loud enough so that his mother would hear.

When he came back, his mother favored him with her soft, sweet smile. "Thank you, honey. You're a good boy."

Kylo smiled back as naturally as he could, even though he felt how dangerously close he was to bursting into tears. He took several breaths to calm himself before setting the tray of food down on Leia's lap.

"Here, mom, try and eat some, okay?"

Leia obediently picked up her fork and began slowly eating the stew Kylo had made.

"This is wonderful, Ben," she said after a few bites. "You certainly get your cooking from MY side of the family. "

She took another bite before saying, curiously, "Speaking of which, though, where is your father? I haven't seen him in a while."

Kylo had to turn away and bite down hard on his lip. He could feel his emotions tottering obscenely close to the edge of madness, and he fought to control them.

_Dad is dead. Remember? I killed him myself. I stabbed him through the heart and watched him fall to his death._

"Dad is, um, on a haul with Chewie," Kylo said as he turned back around. "He'll be back in a couple of days."

Leia frowned as she continued to eat.

"Doesn't call, doesn't send a holo," she muttered peevishly. "That's just like him: irresponsible."

When Kylo didn't answer, she looked up at him. "The same with you. I know you're busy at the temple with Luke, but you hardly come see me anymore, either. You OR Luke. How is my brother?"

_I burned the temple to the ground, and murdered all of Luke's students. I slaughtered them one by one by one, the way you would slaughter animals. What I did broke Luke, emotionally and spiritually, so he ran away. He's been hidden for years. My new Master is dead-set on finding him, so that I'll be forced to kill him, too._

"Luke is fine. He's a bit busy, you know, with all of his students. I'm sure he'll come to see you when he can."

By now Leia had finished eating, and she had turned towards the window, staring out forlornly at the setting sun.

"Scattered," she said, as Kylo took the tray away. "Always so scattered, everyone in this family."

Kylo took the tray into the kitchen, and when he came back, Leia was laying back down on her side, facing the door.

"Ben, you need to help me. When I'm better, I want to invite the family over for dinner, like we used to have. All of us. Okay? It's important. Family is important."

"Okay, mom," Kylo said in a watery voice. He cleared his throat several times before saying "You get some rest now, and we can talk about it in the morning, okay?"

Leia nodded, closing her eyes. Kylo bent down and kissed her cheek softly. 

"I love you, son," she murmured, before drifting into sleep.

 _I love you, too, mom,_ he thought, sitting in the chair by her bedside to watch her sleep. _I am so sorry._

Now that she was no longer looking at him, he let the tears fall freely, the quiet, shuddering sobs wracking his body painfully.

Eventually he fell asleep like that, and when he awoke, it was far past daybreak, the sun shining brightly in the tiny bedroom.

Kylo got up and stretched, his back protesting at having slept in the chair again.

He looked at his mother, and all the blood came rushing to his face, making him lightheaded. He sat back down in the chair, hard, with a thump.

Leia was looking at him with clouded eyes, staring directly at him but seeing nothing. Her mouth was partially open, the lips curled as if she had wanted to say something, some final word for her son before her life force slipped away from her.

Kylo reached out timidly and circled his fingers around her thin wrist, surprised at how cold she already was, how stiff. There was no movement, no flow of blood beneath the skin. Laying his head on her chest to hear a heartbeat produced the same hollow emptiness.

A sharp, painful shriek scared him, and for an absurd moment he wondered if 3PO had somehow managed to turn himself back on.

He didn't realize that it was _him_ who was making that sound.

He was crying.

\---

As Hux rounded the corner, he came upon a lone figure in black sat hunched over on the steps leading out to the gardens.

Kylo had returned from his journey over a week ago, and had yet to get back into the grind of things on the base.

After his mother's death, he had placed an anonymous call to the city funeral home, and watched from afar as the men came and collected her body to prepare for burial. He couldn't very well announce himself as being her son; after all, he was a war criminal in these parts. He had left a note on C-3PO, mimicking his mother's handwriting and asking that in the event of her death it be returned to the Resistance base.

Her friends and those close to her had arranged a funeral, which Kylo also attended in disguise. There was an overwhelming amount of people that came, crying, bearing flowers, all with so many words to say about the fallen lady.

When everything was over, and he had come back to the Order, he found himself in the grip of a unshakeable depression. He was fortunate in that Snoke was being understanding, having given him a few weeks off to "collect" himself.

Kylo spent much of that time sleeping, or wandering outside after the activities for the day had ceased. Like today.

He was staring out at the soft illumination of the glow-bugs, their bodies throwing small golden orbs into the pressing darkness. The air was sultry and weighted down with the sweet perfume of the diverse flora. He had his helmet off, and was holding it limply between his ankles.

He could sense a body moving towards him slowly. Hux. Hux's mind was very hesitant, and Kylo could tell that he was trying to gauge whether it was safe to approach him. Hux was respectful of the fact that Kylo was clearly working through some heady inner strife, and that he wanted to do so, alone. Right now was the first time Hux had seen him since the day he had come back.

In the end Hux's worry for man outweighed his logical integrity, and he moved slowly until he was right beside him, where he gingerly sat down.

Neither said anything, and Kylo didn't even look up to acknowledge Hux's presence.

Looking at him, however, Hux's heart sank to see that Kylo's eyes were a raw, painful-looking red, and more tears were coursing slowly down his face, twin glinting trails in the twilight.

Wordlessly, Hux pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out towards Kylo. Kylo took it silently and slowly cleaned his face. When he was finished he clutched the dampened cloth in both hands, absently fiddling with it.

"Are you alright?", Hux asked him after a few more silent minutes. It was a foolish thing to ask; clearly Kylo wasn't okay at all, but it was the only thing Hux could think to say.

Instead of answering him, Kylo surprised Hux by leaning over and laying his head on the redhead's shoulder.

His weight on Hux's thin frame was heavy, yet oddly pleasant. Kylo heaved one long, shuddery sigh before closing his eyes.

Hux didn't even think about it, just reached over and grabbed Kylo's hand, holding it gently. He had never done that before, and was worried that Kylo would pull back, disgusted. But the man was too far gone in his mind to even care that the redhead had his hand in his own.

The last bit of sun sank behind the low trees, turning the air a smoky blue-gray. Looking up, Hux could see the beginnings of a few faint stars, dotting the evening sky.

"It's so beautiful out here," Hux murmured quietly. The head on his shoulder nodded slightly in accent.

"You haven't eaten today," Hux said softly.

It wasn't a question; he KNEW that Kylo had been skipping meals all these weeks since finding out about his mother. He no longer came to the mess hall, and Hux knew from his daily operations reports that he had made no requests for food to be delivered to him.

"I'm fine," Kylo answered. At that moment, his stomach growled, loudly, in contradiction.

Hux remained quiet, then pressed on with "Why don't you come with me back to my quarters? I'll make us both something, for dinner. Okay?"

Kylo let out another sigh. "You don't have to do that, Hux. I'm fine. Really. I'm okay."

Hux didn't answer right away, just tightened his grip on Kylo's hand.

"Please?", he pleaded, gently coaxing him. "I'll make anything you want. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. You can listen to me talk. Or, I can sing. Would you like me to sing for you?"

Hux's shoulder had begun to shake, and he looked down in alarm, thinking that Kylo was crying again.

But he wasn't.

Rather, he was laughing.

"I've heard you sing before. It's awful.", Kylo said, his voice a mere shadow of its former teasing self.

"Fine. Then I'll just stick to talking."

He stood up and held out his hand.

After a moment, Kylo took it.

\---

Another week passed, and the situation with Kylo had grown worse. Hux was at his wit's end with not knowing what to do, or how to help.

It was probably no secret to anybody on the base that Hux had some serious feelings for the man in black. It was quite obvious, in the way he looked at, talked about, and acted with Ren. However, Kylo himself seemed oblivious to what was so obvious to everybody else. Either that, or he purposefully affected not to acknowledge it.

Hux's concern for Kylo's state of being, therefore, had very little to do with work-related reasons, and everything to do with personal ones.

The thing is, on the outside, everything appeared to have gone back to normal. Kylo started showing up at meetings again. He resumed his training with Snoke. He came into the mess hall, sat at the table held by Hux and the rest of the Officers, and mechanically ate everything on his tray.

Yet Hux knew better.

He had worked with and been around Kylo long enough to know when something was bothering him, or haunting his mind. Kylo no longer laughed like he used to, or told jokes, or seemed to take any real pleasure in anything that he once had.

He had even stopped causing trouble for Hux at Hux's meetings, or anywhere else in the base.

This part should have delighted Hux, as now he could get much more accomplished without the constant interruptions that Kylo would initiate, but it didn't.

The Kylo who sat silently and gave Hux his full, undivided attention worried Hux. The Kylo who calmly helped Hux plan out topics for future meetings worried Hux.

The chill, hopeless way that Kylo went about his tasks, worried Hux.

But because the Supreme Leader seemed to think nothing was truly amiss with his apprentice, there was nothing that Hux could do.

He had invited Kylo to his quarters several times to eat or watch holo-films, but Kylo was just as lifeless and silent in private as he was during work.

Today, Hux was in his office with one of his assistants, waiting on Kylo to show up to help him plan out a conference meeting that was taking place later in the day.

"Where IS he?", Hux hissed angrily at his assistant. "He was supposed to be here over an **hour** ago!"

He was putting on an act of being angry at Kylo's lateness, but in reality, he was a bit relieved.

Showing up late was more like the _old_ Kylo than anything else, and Hux hoped that this meant he was returning to his former self.

His assistant, who was facing the window in the door and keeping watch down the hallway, shrugged.

"Sir, it may be that you will have to begin your notes without him, and let him contribute his piece whenever he does arri--"

Mauser stopped mid-sentence, his breath catching in his throat.

"Mauser? Are you alright? What's wrong?!", Hux demanded, quickly getting out of his seat to approach the man.

Mauser quickly turned away from the window and put his hand on Hux's arm.

"Sir, perhaps you should sit down a moment."

Hux stopped halfway across the room and looked at him in confusion.

"Sit down? Why would I need to sit down?"

Mauser cleared his throat nervously. 

"You're not going to like what's coming down the hall."

"What's--"

The door opened, cutting him off.

A tall, pale man stood before them. He was wearing the olive green work fatigues of the maintenance crew, overlaid with a bright orange vest. His hair was a cheerful blonde that just barely covered the edges of a much darker, curlier hair underneath; possibly a wig. He had on a pair of thick black glasses--and a brilliant, unnerving smile.

"Kylo?", Hux managed to squeak out, hardly aware that he was speaking in a whisper. "Is that you?"

Kylo ignored Hux's question, and said "Hello, my name is Matt. I was recently hired as a radar technician; this is my first day. Can you please point me in the direction of, let me see," he paused, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket, "Sector 00-1, please?"

Hux and Mauser looked at each other in shock, and Hux felt his face and neck go a dark red. He cleared his throat several times before he could speak.

"That -- that will be all, Mauser. Here, take my DataPad down to the conference room, and set up my charts, please. I'll, uh, I'll handle this new recruit myself."

Mauser nodded, gathering up Hux's things and trying to avoid looking at Kylo. When he had everything, he cast one last glance at the tall man before hurrying down the hall.

Hux turned to Kylo, not really sure what to say, or do. Eventually what he heard come out of his mouth was,

"May I ask who hired you, Matt?

"Lord Kylo Ren did, sir."

"Kylo Ren? That seems highly unlikely; the hiring of maintenance crew members isn't his department."

"I don't doubt that, but he made an exception for me. We go back a ways."

"Are you trying to tell me that you're friends? I didn't think a man like that HAD friends."

'Matt' just shrugged.

"Not for me to judge. Anyway, would you be so kind as to point me in the right direction? I don't want to be late my first day."

Again, not really sure of what he was going to say, Hux heard his mouth spill out "I've got a few minutes before my meeting; I'll walk you there myself."

Kylo's eyes lit up with gratitude. "Thank you, Sir. I appreciate it."

Hux and Kylo stepped out of his office and headed towards the lower levels, Kylo chatting the entire time about small things like the weather. Hux nodded and listened, but inside he was one roiling ball of confusion. Was he really going to go along with this?

He couldn't help but notice all the people that stopped and stared at them as they made their way through the halls.

Kylo himself seemed completely unaware that anyone recognized him, or found the situation odd. He was animated and cheerful, delving out waves and "Good Morning!" to nearly everyone they passed.

Eventually, they had reached the lower level, where Captain Defago, the supervisor, was waiting.

"Captain, this is Matt," Hux told him, mildly amused at the shocked look the Captain gave them both. Ren clearly needed to work on his disguise, if even someone down here recognized him so quickly.

"He is your newest employee. Treat him well."

He left before the Captain could question him on what was going on. The last thing he heard was Kylo shouting a "Thank you, General!" as he walked away.

\---

"General, this is the situation: Lord Ren has become increasingly depressed since his mother's death. I believe this escapism is his way of coping with that depression. We shall let him continue with his antics for awhile more. If in time he has not returned to normal, I will take it upon myself to restore him to his former self. Until then, send out a memo to all of your top Officers; I want **nobody** interfering with him while he's in this state. Monitor him, but don't interfere. Understood?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Hux answered, gritting his teeth in frustration.

As the holo faded from view, he set to work typing out a memo as Snoke requested, trying his best to make it sound as though this were an undercover operation rather than what it was: Ren losing his mind.

\---

Hux walked into the employee break room, and struggled to keep his face normal as he saw Kylo Ren sitting by himself at one of the tables, drinking a cup of caffe.

Kylo HATED caffe.

Yet there he sat, slugging it down without so much as flinching.

It had been three days, and Kylo was still continuing with his charade.

Surprisingly, from what Captain Defago told Hux, Kylo was a diligent, hard worker. He had learned basic repair and could be seen all over the base, humming to himself as he fixed various machines and computers.

Which, Hux supposed, wasn't all _that_ hard to believe. Kylo had always had a natural aptitude for structure and mechanics, and it looked like he had found a way to bring his skills to the forefront.

He was also getting along with his fellow co-workers, who took an immediate liking to "Matt". Everyone knew it was Kylo Ren, of course, but this version of Ren was a lot more pleasant to stomach than the previous model.

Hux, however, was working his brain ragged trying to figure out a way to snap Ren out of whatever mental free-fall he was in, and back to his former self.

He looked at him now, drinking Caffe and leafing through a repair manual. Without really knowing what he was doing, or why, he sat down across from Kylo, and he asked,

"Mind if I sit here?"

Kylo shook his head, and reached between them to the box of pastries sitting open on the table. He took a muffin, and began to nibble at it.

"So how are you liking The First Order so far?", Hux asked mildly, peeping up at him over his coffee cup.

Kylo shrugged and began fiddling with his vest.

"It's okay. Still getting my bearings and all but I like the people. Everyone's been very friendly. Kylo Ren says that once I get used to things, I'll feel more comfortable."

"Kylo is right, uh, Matt. And if you have any questions or need to _talk_ , about anything, my door is always open."

Kylo, or 'Matt', nodded. "That's very nice, General. You're nothing like Kylo Ren said you'd be like."

"Oh?", Hux asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did he say I'd be like?"

'Matt' looked up nervously.

"Well, um, he said that sometimes you can be a bit grumpy, and not very friendly. He also said you get angry very easily. But, if I may say so, I don't see that in you at all."

Hux had to stifle a laugh.

"So you know Kylo Ren quite well, do you?", Hux asked, feeling absurd that he was even indulging in this lunacy.

'Matt' shook his head vigorously, jarring loose the wig in the process. He subtly adjusted it on his head before he elaborated.

"I know _some_ things about him, not everything. But then again, how well does anyone really know their fellow man?"

Hux smiled again, in spite of himself.

"That's a very astute observation for a radar tech. I see you know him well enough that some of his intelligence rubbed off on you, anyway."

'Matt' looked up at Hux in surprise. "You think I'm, er, you think Kylo Ren is intelligent?"

"When he wants to be, yes. Or I should say, when he allows himself to be led by his brains, and not his emotions."

'Matt' shrugged his shoulders. "Emotions are what he works best with, General. He IS a Force user, after all."

Hux sighed. "I know. Believe me, I know."

Now Hux approached him with a different question. "HOW do you know Ren?"

"We work out together," Matt answered immediately, with a grin. "There's no better person to help you get in shape; the man is ripped."

"Is he? I never noticed," Hux said back, biting down hard on his lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Are YOU 'ripped', as well?

Matt made a muscle, flexing his arms. "A little, but not nearly as much as Kylo Ren. But he's a good teacher; he'll have me looking like him in no time.

"Sounds like you have a bit of affectionate feeling for the man? Or am I mistaken?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "No. He's just a friend. Besides, Kylo Ren says that it's an impossibility for ANYONE to feel _that_ way about him."

Hux raised an eyebrow.

"Does he, now? Do you know WHY he thinks that?"

Matt shrugged. "Says he's an unloveable monster."

"Do you -- do you think he truly believes that?", Hux asked, in a voice that was almost a whisper.

Kylo/Matt nodded firmly.

Hux finished the rest of his caffe and poured himself another cup.He thought over Kylo's words.

"You know, I really don't know why I'm talking to you, Matt. I usually don't talk to the maintenance crew like this. But I'll tell you one last thing, since you're so close to Kylo, and you understand so much. He may not know this, he may not be entirely aware of this, but there **is** a person in this galaxy who cares about him quite a bit."

"The one person who loved me just died, General," Matt responded angrily, apparently not aware that he had referred to himself as 'me'.

Hux pretended not to notice his slip. "Lord Ren sees so much, yet fails to see something right in front of him. He is quite loved, and very worried over, by at least one person."

"Sounds a bit far-fetched, General," Matt said quietly.

"It's not far-fetched at all, Matt. I guarantee you there is a person in this miserable galaxy who not only cares about Kylo Ren, but loves him. Loves him so much that he's worried sleepless over him."

Matt leaned forward, his wig coming loose but not bothering to fix it.

"This mystery person--why wouldn't they _tell_ this to Kylo himself?"

"If I had to make a guess, I'd say it was because of the butterflies."

"Butterflies?", Matt said, pronouncing the unfamiliar word carefully.

Hux nodded. He gathered up his things and turned to go. He stopped at the door and said, without turning around,

"The next time you're around him, maybe pass that along to him."

\---

A hard knocking sound bustled Hux out of a fitful sleep.

He immediately put on a robe and walked quickly to his front door,. The hour being so late, he assumed it was one of his aides coming to tell him that the base was under enemy fire, or something of that nature.

So he was a bit surprised when his doors slid open to reveal Kylo, standing there and looking at him anxiously.

 _Just_ Kylo.

No wig, no glasses, no ridiculous outfit.

"Come in," Hux said; but Kylo seemed frozen to the spot. So Hux, sighing, grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him in.

"Do you realize that it's 4 in the morning? What possessed you to come over here and wake me like this?"

"I have a question for you."

Hux went and sat on his couch, putting his head in his hands. "A question? A QUESTION? You woke me up for a question?!"

Ignoring Hux's rant, Kylo sat down next to him and asked,

"What are butterflies?"

Hux snapped his head up and stared at him.

"What?"

What are butterflies? I, uh, was talking to Matt earlier. He mentioned butterflies, and it's been on my mind all day: what are butterflies?"

Hux grabbed his DataPad off of the caffe table and searched through his files until he came up with some of the pictures he had stored away.

"These. These are butterflies," he said, as Kylo carefully scrolled through the pictures. Hux took the pad and pulled up a holo of a butterfly flapping it's wings in a breeze, and gave it back to Kylo. "They're native to Terra. As you can see, they come in a variety of shapes and colors."

"They're beautiful," Kylo said, as he handed Hux's pad back to him. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Yes?

"If somebody says that you 'give' them butterflies, what does that mean? Is it good or bad?"

Hux smiled, and said, "It's a little of both, I guess. It's a popular Terran expression. Basically it means that the other person is making you nervous, and your feelings for them causes your heart to flutter around like the wings of a butterfly."

"Oh," Kylo said, fidgeting with one of his sleeves.

It was quiet for a few minutes, and then Hux said, softly, "So, how have you been? I, uh, I haven't seen you for awhile. I've missed you."

Kylo's eyes widened. "Y-you've _missed_ me? Really?"

Hux growled out a low huff. "Well, of course. I enjoy having you around me, Kylo. For the most part, anyway. You KNOW that, don't you?"

Kylo shook his head. "I'm not sure I know anything anymore."

Hux scooted closer to him and put his hand on Kylo's shoulder.

"Well, if you know nothing else, know this: I'm here for you, okay? If you feel lost, or confused, you can come talk to me. You can _tell_ me things. Anything."

Kylo took that in silently, and even though Hux wasn't the mind-reader, he could tell Kylo was struggling with whether or not to say something.

"I don't feel well. Um, inside, I don't feel well. I haven't for a while, now."

Hux nodded. "I know. I'm glad to hear you actually say it. You hold too much stuff inside, and coming from ME, that means something."

He timidly took Kylo's hand into his own.

"I don't like to talk about this, but: my mother died when I was a teenager. It destroyed me, mentally, for quite some time. But I was fortunate that I had a good friend, at the time, who was willing to listen, and be there when I needed them. I'd like to be that friend for you, Kylo; if you let me."

"Why?"

Instead of answering immediately, Hux turned Kylo's face towards him and gave him a brief, warm kiss of the lips.

"I have feelings for you, you know," he admitted softly.

When Kylo seemed too surprised to respond, he went on:

"I've wanted to do that for so long; to--to kiss you." Hux told him, blushing.

"Really? WHY?"

Hux sighed.

"You know, I think I preferred talking to Matt. He's a bit brighter than you. It's because, again, I care about you, Kylo. Very much.

But, you know what? Me loving you isn't going to fix you. You need help, and with someone who knows what they're talking about. If I arranged it, and I went with you, will you consider going to see a grief counselor?"

Kylo bit down on his lip. "I don't know. I really don't think that would be something Snoke would approve of.

"Then he won't find out. Just leave it to me; I'll take care of the details. All you have to do is trust me."

"And if I'm not sure I want to be with you, romantically? Will you abandon me then?"

Hux shook his head. "Either way, I'm going to be your friend, and help you through whatever you're going through. I promise."

He stood up.

"We can talk more about solutions I the morning. For now, how about you let me cook you something?"

He held out his hand.

Kylo took it.

~*~*~

**Several Months Later:**

Kylo kicked open his door with a scream, took off his helmet and hurled it across the room and into the opposite wall. The impact made a large hole, and plaster and dust began to leak out into the air.

He ripped off his cowl and his outer robe and dropped these to the ground. He leaned against the wall, grunting and huffing, as he shrugged out of his boots and dropped them one at a time on top of the discarded clothes.

He looked up for the first time, and noticed that Hux was sitting on his couch, legs folded beneath him, calmly going through his DataPad. He hadn't even looked up during Ren's mini tirade.

Ren walked over and laid down on the opposite end of the couch, swinging his feet up. He laid his head in Hux's lap, facing him and breathing in the warm, clean sent of Hux's clothes.

Hux shifted his DataPad to one hand, and with his other he began to gently massage his fingers through Ren's hair, humming a bit as he did so.

"Bad day?", he asked him after awhile.

Ren nodded.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

He shook his head No.

Hux put down his DataPad and began to stroke Ren's back with his now-free hand. The hand that was pulling through Ren's hair slipped down a little and touched his cheeks.

"You face feels rather warm, Kylo," he said, moving the hand from cheek to forehead. "There's a cold going around; I think you might be coming down with it."

"I don't get sick," Ren mumbled grumpily from Hux's lap.

Hux sighed. "You do, too. You had a cold two months ago, remember?"

"Allergies."

"Allergies? In the dead of winter? What are you allergic to, snow?"

"Questions and accusations, mostly."

Hux couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Okay, _fine_ , you big baby. 'Allergies'. Well as much as I'd like you to keep laying there and contaminating me with your 'allergy' germs, I have to get up. I've got a night meeting in about 20 minutes."

Ren groaned, and shifted his face so that he was looking up at Hux. "But I'm comfy here."

"I'll get you a pillow."

"Not the same thing."

Sighing, Hux picked his DataPad back up and typed something into it. He waited a bit until a message flashed across his screen, then he laid the Pad back on the table.

"Okay. I told Captain Phasma to take over for me, told her I wasn't feeling well. Remind me to cough a little around her tomorrow so she doesn't think I was lying."

"Here, let me help," Ren said, slowly raising himself up and kissing Hux on his full lips. "There. Now you've got my cold germs."

Hux grinned, and leaned down to kiss Ren a second time.

"I thought it wasn't a cold, it was allergies?"

Ren grabbed hold of the back of Hux's neck and held him to his lips for quite a long time, stopping only when Hux began gasping for air.

"Cold, allergies; neither of those things compare with what I _really_ have. Something I don't think there's a cure for."

"Oh? And what's that?"

With a grin and another kiss, Kylo uttered "Butterflies", before laying his head back down contentedly in Hux's lap.


End file.
